By Emmett O’Connell
Tucked inside a quarter block of electric wires and transformers on Legion Way in Olympia sits an oddly ornate brick building. Not many people would know to call the property a substation, but the facility owned by Puget Sound Energy has been in downtown Olympia for almost 90 years.
The architectural style of this otherwise utilitarian building is “French Eclectic,” making it (at least in terms of its design) kin to some notable homes in Olympia, including the Titus House (or more recently known as “the Castle”) just south of the Capitol.
In addition to its old-country European look surrounded by modern electric transmission facility is the interesting place the building holds in Olympia utility history.
Beginning in 1890, Olympia Light and Power (OL&P) was the official power utility for the city of Olympia. Promoted and partially owned by Hazard Stevens (the son of the first territorial governor), OL&P produced hydroelectric power at a plant at the foot of the Tumwater Falls.
Unlike the typical impoundment type of hydroelectric plant (like what you would see on the Columbia River), the Tumwater operation by OL&P was a known as a diversion plant. A pipe brought water to the powerhouse, dropping it the entire length of the falls at the very last minute.
Hydroelectricity was not a long-term solution for Olympia and Thurston County’s electricity needs. The Deschutes River would run low in the late summer and fall, making power hard to supply in those months.
There is now a outlet from Lawrence Lake, which originally had been dug by the OL&P to supply extra water to the operation in dry months. A headworks (evidence of which can still be found at Lawrence Lake) would partially drain the lake, sending water down to the river, eventually into the turbines at the base of the falls.
Now the Plum Street Substation stands as evidence of the failure of hydroelectricity on the Deschutes River and of a small, plucky private utility that served Olympia.
Puget Sound Power and Light came together in 1915 as a consolidation of smaller city-based private utilities around Puget Sound.
Olympia Light and Power began working with the firm around the same time, extending power lines from Tacoma into Olympia to supply power to the city’s growing eastern neighborhoods.
Eventually OL&P succumbed and joined Puget Sound Power and Light as a subsidiary. Like many other local power companies (including the parts that made up Puget Power), OL&P operated a street car system throughout Olympia and Tumwater. But, as Puget Sound Power and Light began the transition over the Olympia system, they began phasing out both the old hydroelectric project and the street cars.
And, the final step was creating a way to transition the high voltage Puget Power electricity into Olympia. That was when the French Eclectic structure and the substation around it was built in 1927, when electricity was brought in from power plants across the region, replacing our own homegrown electricity.
For additional reading, visit DAHP: Plum Substation or UW: History of Puget Power.
